Maria Bamford
Maria Elizabeth Sheldon Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and voice actress. She is best known for her portrayal of her dysfunctional family and self-deprecating comedy involving jokes about depression and anxiety. She voices Duchess on The Adventures of Puss in Boots. Early Life and Education Maria Bamford was born on September 3, 1970 at the Port Hueneme Naval Base in Port Hueneme, California. At the time, her father, Joel Bamford, was serving as a Navy doctor. She grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, where she attended Chester Park Elementary and Duluth Marshall School. Bamford has stated that when she was younger she was often troubled with her anxiety, depression, and bouts of what she has called "Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome", a subset of obsessive–compulsive disorder. Upon graduating, she attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. In a 2014 interview with The New York Times, Bamford elaborated on her experience as a college student. She recalled as a sophomore at Bates in 1990 she felt "isolated" and in "a period of despair", when she called the college's suicide hotline after she ate a large amount of food in order to self harm. In 1992, Bamford transferred to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland at the start of her junior year. While at the university she became the first female member of the college's improvised comedy group, The Improverts. After a year in Scotland, she transferred back to her home state and enrolled at the University of Minnesota, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing. She started doing stand-up in Minneapolis, Minnesota at age 19, at Stevie Ray's Comedy Cabaret. Career Early comedy beginnings: 1998–2008 Bamford has been in a number of movies and television shows, including voice appearances in cartoons. She was the voice of Shriek in CatDog, a huge selection of secondary characters in Cartoon Network's Adventure Time, and Mrs. Botsford, Violet, and Leslie on the long running PBS educational series WordGirl. She does various impersonations (including her mother and her agent). Her stand-up comedy often takes the form of vignettes rather than the standard setup/punchline format. Bamford was featured in the documentary series The Comedians of Comedy on Comedy Central and Showtime, and appears in short skits titled The Maria Bamford Show, broadcast on the website Super Deluxe. She appears on the comedy compilation CD Comedy Death-Ray. Rise to prominence: 2008–2014 Her album Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome, produced by Comedy Central Records, was released in April 2009 and includes a DVD containing The Maria Bamford Show episodes. During the Christmas 2009-2010 shopping seasons, Bamford was featured in a series of Target commercials, portraying an overachieving shopper determined to be first in line. For Christmas 2009, she released a free stand-up special online as a gift to her fans. While working in voice-over shows and advertisements in Los Angeles, she was hospitalized three times over the course of 18 months for nervous breakdowns. She commented on the hospital visits by saying "it was the responsible thing to do" after she felt "suicidal" and "dispirited". At the time she was seeing a therapist weekly and a psychiatrist every three months. In 2012 she released The Special Special Special for download through Chill.com. The special was recorded at her own home in Los Angeles with only Bamford's parents present as the audience and is now available on Netflix. In 2013, Bamford created and stars in a web series called Ask My Mom. Maria plays both herself and her mom, who answers questions sent in by fans. Also in 2013, Bamford appeared as herself in one episode of the interview web series All Growz Up with Melinda Hill. She provides the voice of Pema in Nickelodeoncartoon The Legend of Korra. In 2013, she appeared in season four of Arrested Development as DeBrie Bardeaux, Tobias Fünke's love interest. The series creator noted Bamford as a comical "genius" and said that "real artists Maria talk about things that nobody else talks about, and talk about them candidly.” Lady Dynamite and critical acclaim: 2014–present She appeared in Season 3 of Louis CK's Louie. In 2014, she co-created, wrote, and starred in The Program with Melinda Hill, produced by Funny or Die.In 2014, she won the American Comedy Award for Best Club Comic. In January 2016, she was a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where he called her his "favorite comedian on planet Earth". In early 2016, Netflix announced the creation of an original series based on Bamford's life. The series, called Lady Dynamite, has Bamford in the lead role. In May 2016, the series went live on the Netflix streaming service. Bamford was asked to be involved in the writing process. She did not write any episode herself, but was in the writers' room often, discussing ideas and "hanging out" with the writers. The writers had freedom to modify her experiences for creative purposes. In May 2017, Bamford was the commencement speaker for the University of Minnesota's College of Liberal Arts. Personal Life Bamford stated in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune that she has been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, as well as obsessive–compulsive disorder(OCD), "the new gladiator sandal", as she puts it in her comic performances. On December 11, 2014, during her show at the Neptune Theater in Seattle, Bamford announced that she was engaged to artist Scott Marvel Cassidy. They were married at a private ceremony in 2015. Bamford has one sister, Sarah Seidelmann; who is a life coach and shaman. She has a private residence in Los Angeles, California. She is also a fan of Pugs, and had two pugs, Blossom and Bert, the former whom passed away in 2011 after an incident for which Bamford blamed herself. Filmography Bamford has appeared in at least six movies as of 2016. She has served as writer for seven movies and television shows and produced three films and shows all as an executive producer. Film * Lucky Numbers (2000) * Stuart Little 2 (2002) * Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure (2003) * Barnyard (2006) * Heckler (2007) * Hell & Back (2015) Television * Lady Dynamite (as herself; lead/titular role) * Comedy Bang! Bang! * Golan the Insatiable (voice: Carole Beekler, Swingley) * BoJack Horseman (voice: Kelsey Jannings) * @midnight (2014) * Arrested Development (as DeBrie Bardeaux) * Ugly Americans * Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule * Comedy Central Presents * Comic Remix * Conan * Cromartie High School * Dharma & Greg * Jimmy Kimmel Live! * Late Friday * The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson * Louie * Premium Blend * Rove Live * Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! * The Tonight Show with Jay Leno * The Trouble with Normal * World Comedy Tour * Mystery Science Theater 3000 (as the fiddler during the square dancing host segment in episode 607- BLOODLUST!) * John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show (2010) (Season 1) * The Sarah Silverman Program (2010) (as Mae Kadoodie – Episode "Nightmayor") * Kroll Show -'' guest appearance in the episode "Can I Finish?" (2013) * ''The Nerdist (2013) * Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight (voice) * Adventure Time (voices: Manfried, Slime Princess, Raggedy Princess, Guardian Angel, Duchess of Nuts, Huntress Wizard, and others) * Leliko (voice) * Back at the Barnyard (Mrs. Beady) * CatDog (Shriek) * Hey Arnold! (Mayor Dixie) * Mr. Meaty (Ashley Steinberg) * Home Movies (voice) * Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (voice) * ¡Mucha Lucha! (voice) * Tom Goes to the Mayor (voice) * Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island (voice) * WordGirl (voices: Sally Botsford, Leslie, the assistant to Mr. Big, Violet Heaslip and Bank Teller (in Granny Mayor)) * Skunk Fu! (voice) * Kick Buttowski (voice: "Wacky" Jackie Wackerman) * The Legend of Korra (voice: Pema) * Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (voice: Chen) * Tales of Metropolis (voice: Lois Lane) * Benched (Cheryl) * Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero (2015, 2017) voices: The President (2 episodes), Matthews (2 episodes), Mrs. Monkenfluffer (4 episodes), Nancy ("Chuckle City 500"), Nug (3 episodes), Land Shark (2 episodes) * Fresh Off the Boat (2015) Principal Thomas (2 episodes) * Pig Goat Banana Cricket (2015) voices: Delooney Hamshank, Ma Hamshank (1 episode) * The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2016, May 5, 2017) * Late Night with Seth Meyers (July 26, 2016) * Take My Wife * Portlandia * Downward Dog * Mighty Magiswords (voice) Discography * The Burning Bridges Tour (2003) CD * How to WIN! (2007) CD * Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome (2009) CD * Plan B (2010) DVD * The Special Special Special! (2012) download * Ask Me About My New God! (2013) CD * 20% (2016) CD Web series * Bravest Warriors (2012) (Pixel, Gayle, Elves, others) * SuperF*ckers (2012) (Princess Sunshine, Computer Fist, others) * Ask My Mom (2013) (herself, her mother Marilyn Bamford) * Talking Tom and Friends (2014–present) (Talking Ginger) Documentaries * The Comedians of Comedy (2005) * Maria Bamford: Old Baby (2017) original External Links # Official Website # Maria Bamford on IMDb # Maria Bamford at Comedy Central # Radio Interview with Bamford on NPR's Fresh Air (38 min., 2013) Category:Duchess Category:Voice Actor Category:Female Cast Category:People Category:Cast Category:Real Life Category:Female Characters Category:Females Category:Humans